Although it’s the Conservatives nowadays who are best known for in-fighting, this weekend we were offered a reminder of the divisions in Labour. At a meeting of the National Policy Forum (NPF), a row broke out between the Momentum contingent and the moderates.
The subject of the row was – once again – Ann Black, the veteran activist who was ousted as chair of the Disputes Panel last month (and replaced with Corbyn favourite Christine Shawcroft) after the Corbynistas won a majority on the National Executive Committee. Black was expected to defeat union representative Andi Fox to be elected as chair of the policy forum, which sets Labour policy for future general elections. However, it appears Jeremy Corbyn’s allies had other ideas. With expectation mounting that the moderates would win the vote, the election was abruptly postponed – thanks to a last-minute vote by the Corbynista-tipped NEC.
The official reason for the cancellation was ‘insufficient notice’ but many in the party – and at the event – dispute this.
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